At the Crossroads of the Gods

This chapter examines the coexistence and isomorphism of power forms in West Africa, in particular, the crisscrossing of magic (charisma), religion, and the state in a variegated geopolitical context. The spread of charismatic Pentecostalism, probably the fastest growing Christian denomination in all of Africa, the chapter argues, attests to the ability of African mythological cosmology to accommodate religious worldviews. It is also a reflection of the more intricate “wiring” of West Africa into information, communication, and transportation networks that enable religious leaders to broadcast religious messages from Lagos to Cape Town. The chapter explores specific aspects of African mythological cosmology that facilitate the adoption and/or imbrication of religious expressions. Yet, African mythological cosmology is also embedded in regional geopolitics (e.g., liberal democracy in the littoral, Islamic irredentism in the Sahel hinterland), social institutions (schools, secret societies, including those of foreign origins such as Freemasonry, etc.), free-style magicians (e.g., the late Daouda Yattara of Mali), historical experiences (colonialism), and technologies (mobile telephony and internet) that impose their own stamps on social power relations. Cooperation or conflict obtains from the dynamic intersectionality of African mythological cosmology, magic (charisma), religion, secular power forms, the agency of social actors, and uneven development.